Shoot-Out At The MidEast Corral
An act of desperation? Of deception? Can it be that the U.S. doesn't know where else to turn, what else to turn on, to make a success of its dismal failure in Iraq, its unleashing of internecine warfare that seems to know no bounds, is amenable to no solution? That it is so befuddled politically by where it has landed itself in the opinion of the majority of U.S. citizens that it has decided to take truly incendiary measures to defer attention from its inability to pull itself together?That the lunatic aspirations of an Ahmadinejad running roughshod over UN-delivered pleas to cease and desist, may bring American plans for the geography to a screeching halt, a defeat of its determination to hold onto its interlocutor position, to restore its former standing in the area of the "Muslim street" now looking askance at American 'adventurism' in an Islamic landscape?
Whatever the actual single cause, or combination of events conspiring to bring the American government to its decision, it has just handed a loaded nuclear device to an arena very much enamoured of explosives. Is it logical when a situation is highly combustible to bring along a lighted torch, out of curiosity, just to see what will occur? There's a lot of heated belligerence gassing up the atmosphere, why light a match?
Yet that appears to be exactly what is occurring. Washington is 'offering' a US$13-billion armaments packet to Egypt, another package worth US$20-billion to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries; for the Saudis meant to beef up missile defences and air force and increase its naval capabilities. And Israel, oh yes, US$30-billion targeted to upgrade its already-substantial armaments.
Doesn't that bespeak a nicely diplomatic balance? Everyone happily guaranteed the means by which real fireworks can be produced. But according to U.S. Secretary of State Condie Rice, "This effort will help bolster forces of moderation and support a broader strategy to counter the negative influences of al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, Syria and Iran". Yes indeed. What moderation exactly are we talking about here - in Egypt and Saudi Arabia?
The real experts, military experts, see things from a somewhat different perspective, that born of experience in the theatre of war, the history of the Middle East, and the inherent nature of the states involved - as a high risk effort permitting Saudi Arabia and Egypt and the other involved states to shout a little louder, threaten a little more convincingly - and in the process bring calm to an inflamed region...?
"The failure of the American project for a democratic greater Middle East, confounded in the battle for Iraq, has forced Washington to try to salvage the situation by distributing military aid all over the place", according to the editor-in-chief of a French defence periodical. And chairman of the German parliament's foreign affairs committee weighed in with his take: "If you add more explosives to a powder keg, you increase the risk and do not make the region more secure".
Indubitably. Spinning toward a concussive conclusion. Bets anyone?
Labels: Middle East, Political Realities
posted by Pieface @ Tuesday, July 31, 2007
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